7 Dog Breeds that Don't Deserve Their Stereotypes

Yahoo! Shine ^ | 1/10/14 | Carol Bryant

[Slings and Arrows]

Have you ever been out in public, minding your own business, simply walking your dog, and people start moving to the other side of the street in fear? There are many dog breeds that don't deserve the bad rap society places upon them. Perhaps your dog is one of the breeds or mixed mutts that get a bad rap.

Dogs of certain breeds are not born dangerous by default. This, coupled with breed legislation, media focus on particular breeds, and the sensationalizing of certain incidents of attack have lead to an overall generalizing that ultimately hurts a dog, and may cost him his life.

-snip-

1. Pit Bull: Sadly, this breed has taken on more criticism and warnings than most other breeds in recent years. Often labeled as vicious, untrustworthy, and in possession of locking jaws, the Pit Bull tops our list as receiving a bad rap. According to the American Temperament Test Society, Pit Bulls ranked second in reliability overall. In other words: This original "nanny breed" is not the problem, but the way he is trained may be the issue.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Skinny, nervous, ankle-biting b*tches like Andrea Mitchell earn their stereotypes.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Watch out for Fenton the deer-chasing Lab!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRSbr0EYYU

[Slings and Arrows]

[Scrambler Bob]

But Poodles are the best humans.

[the OlLine Rebel]

The ATT basically tests stability (nerve - or rather, lack of nerve) in a situation, not necessarily whether the dog will go off without warning or continue mauling where most dogs stop when they get their point across. It tends to point out cowards, more than vicious animals. Failures are generally just cowards. http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/search/label/ATTS

The “nanny” thing is apparently nonsense, too. Created as late as the ‘70s and repeated like wildfire to make it seem true. Pictures don’t make it so either. http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2010/08/nanny-dog-myth-revealed.html

[CatherineofAragon]

Prepare for incoming. *wink*

[Uncle Chip]

6 infamous pit bulls
by Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_23209368/jogger-mauled-death-by-pit-bulls-near-palmdale

[the OlLine Rebel]

Because, like true terrier temperament, they won’t let it go. They’re tenacious, holding on and determined not to merely say “get out of here”, but to rip apart.

[oldenuff2no]

Who ever wrote this crap did not review the factual numbers that document that clearly demonstrate that the majority of dog attack on humans that either cause death or cause great damage are by pit bulls. The center for disease control has these numbers and they are easily found.

Not all pit bulls kill people but the majority of people killed by dogs in this country are killed by pit bulls.

[driftdiver]

Poodles and Cocker Spaniel’s were very popular with the puppy mills and breeding practices were deplorable.

[chae]

I have 4 dogs. 2 Chihuahua mixes and 2 pure chihuahuas, all shelter rescues. They only yap if someone comes to the door at night. They love kids, and they are total lap dogs, with great temperments.

[Slings and Arrows]

Flak armor and helmet ready.

[Nonsense Unlimited]

There is so much bad information on dog breeds, dog temperament, breeding, and the effect of training to successfully accomplish behavioral modification it’s mind boggling.

We had a male Fila Brailiero (Brazilian Mastiff and hands down the best guard dog in the world), a female Doberman (a fearful girl with a very soft temperament), a female Great Dane (hard as nails and extremely confident) and a male Pitbull (the ultimate lover) all living in happy harmony together, both in their outdoor pen and in the house.

You MUST know what you should expect and how to handle ANY dog before you get it. If your best (and hopefully knowledgeable) attempts to control the dog fail, shoot it, as it has no business being around humans.

[Slings and Arrows]

[Mercat]

Daschunds are similar.

[CatherineofAragon]

"I was not aware that German Shepherds had any sort of bad rap. My family has had a couple of them, and they were very good dogs.

If I'm not mistaken, their bad rap had its origins with WWI and again with WWII; they were thought of as vicious, evil Hun/Nazi dogs.

That reputation still persists, to a degree. My sister-in-law had a GSD who was trained for protection. A lot of people were scared to death of that dog, on sight alone. Of course, if you threatened his people, he WOULD take care of the threat, but otherwise he was a big, sweet old love puppy.

[Uncle Chip]

Interesting chart — If I’m reading that right:

While Pit Bulls account for only 4.4% of all dogs, they are responsible for 65% of all dog attack deaths and maimings in US and Canada.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I have a shelter mutt I adopted, and people who know dogs say she’s got a good bit of pit bull in her.

I have never known a gentler, more sweet-natured animal in all my life.

[Darren McCarty]

I knew someone who had a guard dog GSD. I made the mistake of sitting down in a recliner. This muscular 80lb dog jumped in my lap and tried to lick me to death.

Friendly dog, as long as you didn’t go near the owner’s car or guns.

[reformedliberal]

Yep! Had one! If the bunny went around the tree 3x, so did the beagle. One March, it finally killed him as he followed a scent across the ice to where it was too thin, fell in and drowned. It was sad, because he was a good dog. But the nose overrules their brain.